Page 126 of The Keeper

Hannah, Mr. Caldwell, and Bennet all said their goodbyes and made their way to the offices inside the stadium.

“I’m hitting the showers,” Cade said. “If you two want to join me, feel free.”

I shot him a dirty look before he jogged off. I could hear him laughing. Most of our teammates were gone by now to break for lunch. Only the equipment staff lingered on the pitch gathering cones and balls.

Victoria hadn’t moved. Her demeanor seemed tense, like she was deep in thought about something unpleasant.

“You have plans tonight?” I asked, feeling rather awkward for some reason.

“Yeah,” she responded. “I’m having dinner with my dad, if you can believe it.”

I turned to fully face her. “Are you looking forward to it?”

She crossed her arms and shrugged. Pieces of her hair fluttered in the breeze. I didn’t like how closed off she’d become.

“Are you alright, love?” When I reached for her she backed away. The rejection needled at my heart. “Victoria,” I said, my voice more strained than I expected. “Look at me.”

She studied me for a few seconds. “I’m okay.”

“Are we going to do the talking in circles thing again?”

“No,” she sighed. “I’m okay. Really. I just have a lot of crap on my mind.”

“Have you heard from your friend Killian?” I asked, trying to get her in a better mood.

“As a matter of fact I did.” Her face lit up. “I told him you’d love to hire him as your personal brand manager.”

My jaw dropped. I couldn’t tell if she was messing with me or not. “You did?”

“No.” She laughed. “I just wanted to see the look on your face. It did not disappoint.”

I grinned. “You’re lucky I like it when you tease me.”

“Is that so?” The white of her teeth dug into the dark red staining her plump bottom lip. So damn sexy.

“What are these made from?” she asked, reaching for me and running a finger down my gloved palm.

“That side? Latex mostly.” Half a dozen filthy thoughts raced through my mind. “Why do you want to know?”

A coquettish glint sparked in her eyes. “I liked watching you practice.”

“Oh?” I clasped my hands together below my stomach. “What did you like about it?”

“The way you move. You have this ability to control your body in ways I’ve never seen before. One minute you’re ferocious. The next, calm. It’s fascinating.”

She turned and faced the goal. A stronger breeze blew between us, fusing the side of her dress to her body, accentuating her curves. The delicate hem floated up exposing the supple arc of her backside.

Her bare backside…

“Dirty princess,” I spoke in a dangerous tone, approaching her. “Turn toward me.”

She failed at hiding a smile when she did as I asked, which should have annoyed me. But since it’s her it only succeeded in turning me on. I removed one glove and slid my hand under her dress, finding nothing but smooth skin.

“No knickers?”

“Not right now.”

I squeezed her ass. “What does not right now mean?”

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